Judges
Deterioration and Deliverance
The book of Judges recounts the up-and-down experience of the
Israelites during the centuries between Joshua and Samuel (about
1400-1050 B.C.). The author of the book is unknown, but the date of
writing was probably between the institution of the monarchy under
Saul and David's capture of Jerusalem from the Jebusites (Judg.
1:21; 2 Sam. 5:6-9).
The name of the book comes from its title for the leaders after
Joshua (Judg. 2:16-19). It appears that their "judging" primarily
involved gaining justice for the Israelites by delivering them from
oppression (verse 16).
Under Joshua, the Lord defeated powerful forces opposing the
Israelites. Following generations had the task of completing the con-
quest through faith in God's power. But their military momentum
ground to a halt and went into reverse in proportion to their disloyalty
to Him.
Because the Israelites broke the Lord's covenant by mixing with
the inhabitants of the land and worshiping their gods, He could not
complete the fulfillment of His promises to them. He allowed the
inhabitants of the region to harass and oppress them. This is one way
the Lord sometimes punishes His unfaithful people; He withdraws
His protection so that their enemies prevail against them
-
. In their
misery, the Israelites would return to the Lord, whereupon He would
raise up a "judge" to deliver them. When this leader was gone, they
would fall into worse apostasy than before. Thus, the period of the
"judges" was characterized by downward spiraling cycles of apos-
tasy, repentance, deliverance, and worse apostasy.
While the book of Judges provides many negative examples, there
were those, such as Deborah, Barak, and Gideon, who were faithful
to the Lord and stood out like bright lights amid the prevailing
darkness. Risking everything, from a human point of view, they
placed their lives in the hands of God and were victorious against
seemingly impossible odds. These courageous individuals, "who through
faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises"
(Heb. 11:33, NRSV), teach us that there are no limits to what we can
accomplish for God and for His people when we trust in Him and
allow His Spirit to move us (Judg. 3:10; 6:34; 11:29).
The most positive message of the book of Judges is the persistence
and patience of God's love. His people abandoned Him time after
time, but He was always ready to receive them back. The struggles of
God's people at that time are typical of their struggles in every era
and especially in our era, immediately prior to the final overthrow of
the united forces of evil.
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